As you probably know, I’ve
decided to give the 52 Lists Project by Morrea Seal a go, and yes, I am incredibly late to this
particular party! If you haven’t heard of it, the basic premise is that a list
subject has been created for every week of the year, so each week you print off
your list template, complete it and pop it in a folder. At the end of a year
you will then have 52 different lists, which should tell you a lot about
yourself. Yes, you are probably meant to start this project at the beginning of
the year, but hey, when was I ever one to conform?!
This week I had a go at
list number 5, which was asking you to list all the things you are grateful
for, which I thought was a really lovely thing to do and is something I’ve been
meaning to do for quite some time.
I actually think this is a
really good thing to do on a regular basis – even if it’s just once a week
writing down three things you are grateful for. It soon builds up and you
realise you have so many things to feel thankful about, even if sometimes life
can seem very bleak. I guess my list is fairly typical in a number of ways. I
am grateful for my loving and supportive family and friends, having a roof over
my head, food in the fridge and clean water to drink and I have grown up
somewhere safe. I also tried to look at my health, which I very often feel
disappointed with, but I think it’s important to find any little things that
you can be happy about. Yes, I have a long-term genetic condition that is
always going to make life more difficult for me, but things could always be
worse. Most of the time I am able to get out of bed in the morning, even if it’s
just to make it downstairs to the sofa. But I still get a change of scenery,
and there have been times in my life when I have been bedbound for months on
end. I am also incredibly lucky to finally have a diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos
Syndrome. It might sound like a strange thing to be grateful for, but after
spending 26 years being unwell and not having any answers, it is such a relief
to finally have some understanding of what is wrong with me.
The EDS is also a blessing
because it has made me who I am today. It’s introduced me to the most amazing
group of online (and real life) friends, who I would never have met if I were
healthy. It has made me appreciate the little things in life – feeling the
sunshine on my face, being able to wash my hair, walking bare foot on dewy
grass. There is so much to be grateful for in this beautiful world, but
sometimes you just have to look a bit harder for it.
What words and phrases would be on
your list for this week?
This Monday I went back to
college after having two weeks off for the Christmas holidays. It was
definitely a shock to the system waking up at 7am again after a couple of weeks
of lie-ins! I feel a bit like I’ve gone back to reality with a bang. All of a
sudden we have assignments and exams coming out of our ears and I’m already
feeling absolutely shattered. I just keep reminding myself of my end goal, and
the fact that it’s only 5 weeks until half term!
Image from Weheartit
Occupational Therapist
On Tuesday my new
Occupational Therapist came round to see me to discuss where I am with my
health and what she might be able to do to help. It was quite nice being able
to talk to an OT, as it’s the career I’m going into, but it was also really
helpful having someone who can help me problem solve some of the difficulties I’m
having. She spent a good hour and a half with me, going through my physical and
mental health problems and how they are affecting what I can do day-to-day. We
discussed the fact that I really need a new wheelchair that I can self-propel
and she is going to put in an application for me to get a made-to-measure chair
from the NHS, which is something I never expected I would be able to get so
that’s really positive. She has also given me a bath board so that I can still
wash if I’m not feeling up to standing in the shower or getting in and out of
the bath. We did also talk about the possibility of a stair lift and that’s
something she’s going to go away and think about, but overall I’m so glad I was
able to see her as these adaptations will hopefully make life a little easier
for me.
Image from Weheartit
New Godson
One of my closest friends
gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on Thursday and I have been asked to be one
of his Godmothers. I’m so excited to go round and see my friend and baby Jack –
I’ve seen some photos and he looks just gorgeous! It’s also a great excuse for
me to buy cute baby clothes because, let’s face it, who doesn’t like choosing
adorable little clothes!
Image from Weheartit
What has grabbed your attention this
week? I love hearing about people’s new discoveries and you may end up sharing
something that makes it onto my list next week!
As you may remember from
previous posts, I have started working with a great little company called IttyBitty Book Company. They produce the cutest little books, filled with
inspirational quotes for any situation. In my work with them, I’ve decided that
every other week I will share a quote with you that I feel applies to my life
at that particular time. I love quotes and often turn to them when I need some
motivation and inspiration, so I hope that by doing this I can help to inspire
some of you too.
“Keep in mind admitting weakness is
actually a sign of strength”
This quote really stood out
to me this week because for the last few weeks I’ve been really trying to put
on a brave face but it’s got to the point where I just needed to admit that I
am really struggling. It’s easy to see it as a sign of weakness, admitting you
are feeling vulnerable and scared, but it actually takes a hell of a lot of
guts to open up to others and be honest about what’s going on for you. I’ve
been trying to convince myself that it’s OK to let others know I’m finding
things hard, and that, in the long run, it will actually help me to get
stronger with their help. There’s nothing wrong with accepting help from those
around you. We are social beings who need other people to survive, and there’s
nothing weak or bad about admitting you need a bit of help. So, instead of
struggling to put on that brave face all the time, why not try confiding in
someone you trust about what’s really going on. You might be pleasantly
surprised by how much it helps.
What quotes inspire you when things
are difficult?
I was recently given a book
by a friend called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and after hearing
about it online and then flicking through the book I was inspired to do my own
Happiness Project. If you haven’t heard of the book, it is basically about a
lady who was tired of feeling run down and miserable all the time, so she
decided to do something about it. She started off on a project that would span
an entire year. Every month was assigned a theme, and within these themes she
came up with a selection of goals to help her reach the happiness theme of that
particular month. It’s a really inspiring and thought-provoking book, so I
would really recommend giving it a read if you ever get the chance.
So, I decided that I am
also fed up of feeling sad all the time. Having depression makes life
incredibly difficult and, whilst I know I can’t cure myself, I can be more
proactive in my choices, which in turn could lead to an improved state of mind.
Conducting my own Happiness Project seemed like the perfect thing to start,
what with it being a new year and all that, so I started thinking about how I
could do one for myself. I have decided to use the same monthly themes that are
talked about in the book, because I feel I am able to come up with relevant
goals for each of them, which are personal to me. Obviously no two happiness
projects will be the same, because we all have individual challenges that cause
us unhappiness and different things that make us feel happy. But I felt I could
relate the themes to my own life and come up with a range of goals that cover
all aspects of my life.
I thought I would make a
series of posts, over the next year, so that you can experience my Happiness
Project with me, and perhaps even join me and do a project of your own. I will
do a post at the beginning of each month, detailing the monthly theme and the
goals I am aiming towards, and then at the end of the month I will do a brief
wrap-up about how I have got on over the last month and reflect on how the
project is going.
So we are obviously in
January at the moment, and the theme for this month is to ‘Boost Energy.’ My
goals this month are as follows:
Go to sleep earlier
I find that because of my
health problems I need a lot of sleep, and even then I still don’t feel very
energetic. I’m not expecting miraculous changes, but I’m hoping that by going
to bed a bit earlier I will feel a bit more refreshed the next morning,
especially when it’s a college day!
Eat more healthily
This is quite a sensitive
area for me because of my eating disorder, so I know I need to be careful with
the kind of goal I set myself. Rather than focussing on cutting things out or
reducing the amount I eat, I thought a focus on healthier eating might be
better. I believe that eating healthily means generally sticking to healthy
foods, but at the same time allowing yourself a little of what you fancy.
Everything in moderation is what I’ve always been told. So I will be trying to
replace some of my snacks with healthier alternatives and try and ensure I’m
eating as wide a variety as possible of fruits and vegetables.
Swim once a week
This is actually a goal I
came up with when I saw my Physiotherapist. I used to do Hydrotherapy at the hospital
twice a week, which was really helpful as I’m able to do exercises in the water
than I could never do on land. But unfortunately the Hydro sessions were time
limited, so before Christmas I signed up to my local gym on a swimming
membership. I went sporadically but always found it very relaxing when I did
eventually go, so this year I want to try and go once a week, unless there’s a
valid excuse why I can’t go. It’s also an opportunity for me to have a bit of
‘me time,’ which must be good for boosting physical and mental energy.
Tidy out my wardrobe and Organise my craft unit
My mantra has always been
‘A tidy house equals a tidy mind’ so if my room is anything to go by at the
moment, my mind must be incredibly messy! Rather than aiming to tidy my whole
room, which I think will just be detrimental to my health, I wanted to focus on
just a couple of aspects. The first thing I need to do is tidy out my wardrobe,
try clothes on and actually get rid of stuff that either doesn’t fit me or I
will never wear. At the moment they are just making the room feel more
cluttered and having a negative impact on my body image when I look in the
wardrobe and realise I have things in there that don’t fit me any more. I would
also like to organise my new craft units that I bought at the end of last year.
This will actually be incredibly helpful for another goal in a few months time,
so I really need to work on getting it done.
Go to the cinema once a month
This is a slightly abstract
goal, because I’m not 100% sure if it will actually have any impact on my
energy, but it’s something I have been wanting to do for a while and now felt
like a good time to introduce it. I love going to the cinema and, now that I’m
a student, I feel like I should be making the most of reduced ticket prices and
trying to do a few more social activities with people who live nearby. I’m
hoping it will promote extra happiness, especially if I go and watch a comedy
or a Disney film!
So there we have it. Five
different goals to work on this month, and I think that hopefully they are very
achievable goals. I’m really looking forward to taking part in this project and
would love you to join me with your own. If you would like to take part and
happen to take any photos as part of your project, please use #JensHappyProject
so I can check out what you’ve all been up to!
I’m enjoying this book so
much that I decided to buy another copy to giveaway to you guys! All you have
to do is enter on the Rafflecopter below. This giveaway is open to everyone and
anyone, as it won’t be too heavy for me to post if you happen to live abroad,
so please do enter if you’d like to win the book and a little letter from me. I
will check the winning entry so please play fair. The giveaway will close on 16th
January, so you have just over a week to enter.
I really hope you’re
enjoying this series of posts and that perhaps you’ve discovered a new blog or
two to follow. It’s so hard to just pick one blogger a month because there are
so many great bloggers out there – I’ve got a list longer than my arm of
candidates for my blogger of the month award! If you have a particular blogger
you’ve been loving recently, I’d love to hear about them.
So, let me introduce you to
my January Blogger of the Month; Megan over at Briar Rose Blog.
I discovered Megan’s blog a
while ago and I don’t know why I haven’t made her my blogger of the month
sooner, because hers is one of my favourite ever blogs to read! She also
produces YouTube videos as well, so covers my interest from all angles!
Megan
Megan comes across as such
a lovely person and is definitely someone I would love to be friends with!
She’s 22, an aspiring YA novelist, occasional model (isn’t she gorgeous?!) and
lives with her husband in their University town of Bath, with her parental home
being in Cornwall.
Fashion
I am absolutely in love
with Megan’s style and sense of fashion. I get the impression my body shape is
quite similar to hers, and I have got no end of inspiration from her fashion
posts. I really struggle to dress for my body shape, but discovering Megan’s
blog has opened my eyes into a whole new way of dressing. She chooses
beautifully made fabrics and colours that you can’t help but be taken in by.
Cute accessories
Megan is definitely a girl
after my own heart when it comes to accessories – the cuter and more individual
the better! Over the last few months she has showcased everything from a
Russian Doll bag to plenty of quirky and fun hair accessories from Crown andGlory.
Cute cat
If you’re a regular reader
of my blog you will know by now that I’m a big cat lover, so seeing photos of
Megan’s gorgeous kitty cat, who lives with her parents, never fails to make me
smile!
Product reviews
I always enjoy reading
reviews from bloggers – it’s the first place I go to for information and
thoughts on pretty much anything! I really enjoy Megan’s reviews because she
looks at such an eclectic mix of products and takes such beautiful photographs
of them in the process.
Amazing red hair
You can’t read Megan’s
blog, or watch her videos, without noticing her waves of beautiful red hair. As
a fellow red-head, I am totally inspired by it and definitely dream of my hair
being that long and lustrous one day!
Love of afternoon tea
I know I’ve found a person
I will click with when I find out they love afternoon tea! Megan loves to share
her fondness for cakes, tea and sandwiches with her beautiful photographs and
lyrical words.
Cosplay
Before reading Megan’s
blog, I had never really heard of Cosplay and now I’m wondering why I waited
until now to know about it! The thought of being able to dress up as a Disney
Princess fills me with absolute joy, and it’s something I would really like to
look into doing at some point. Megan makes the most amazing costumes – look out
in the future for her completely hand-made Elsa costume – it’s amazing!
Beautiful wedding photos
Just over a year ago, Megan
married her sweetheart in what I can only describe as my perfect wedding
ceremony. I was entranced by her beautiful photos, the outfits, decorations and
just about everything else. Definitely going to be pinning some of those photos
onto my Pinterest wedding board!
Baking
Like myself, Megan feels
most at home baking in her gorgeous kitchen, and I love keeping up-to-date with
her latest recipes for scrummy looking cakes and sweet treats.
Gorgeous round ups
I especially love it when
Megan posts a round up of photos over on her blog – she takes the most
beautiful and colourful photos, so having them all in one place is a real treat
for the eyes!
YouTube
I’m really getting into
watching and using YouTube at the moment, so I’m extra happy that Megan makes
videos as well. She took part in Vlogmas in December, which I might have let
out a little squee about – a video every day! What more could you possibly
want?!
So, that just about sums up
my Blogger of the Month for January. If you’ve not checked out Briar Rose Blog
before I really hope I’ve helped convince you to and that you’ve found a great
new blogger to follow.
*All photos are taken by Megan over at Briar Rose Blog
I love to find new blogs to follow, so
if you have any recommendations I’d love to hear them.
It seems to be a bit of a
tradition now for my Dad and I to go to the cinema in between Christmas and New
Year, and this year was no exception. Along with my Mum and my friend, we went
to see the new film, Paddington, and absolutely loved it. If you’re a fan of
Paddington or you like children’s films that are really meant for adults then I
would definitely recommend going to see it.
What has grabbed your attention this
week? I love hearing about people’s new discoveries and you may end up sharing
something that makes it onto my list next week!
A collection of things that happened in the month of
December
Here I am with my final
monthly round-up of the year – where on earth has the last year gone?! Looking
back it’s been a pretty difficult year for me. I’ve needed two majoy operations,
been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Type 3 and my physical health
overall seems to have declined quite a bit. But, saying that, there have also
been some lovely events this year – from engagements and weddings to spending
time with special friends, it’s always important to remember there is something
good in every day. I seem to say this in every round-up I do, but it seems to
have been another crazy busy month (well, for me anyway!) I started the month celebrating
my Granny’s 91st Birthday, which I think is bloomin’ amazing! She
might be in the late stages of dementia and be very frail, but she’s still
going strong and continues to surprise us with her strong will and
determination. This is one of my favourite photos from the day.
This month I have also
tried to go back to Church a bit. I’ve spoken before about how I’m struggling
with my faith at the moment, but December seemed the perfect time to go to a
few services and try and sort out some things in my head. One service I managed
to attend was the annual Christingle service, which was really lovely and I
even managed to get my Mum to come along as well. This service always signifies
the beginning of Christmas to me, and I love eating the sweets from my Christingle
after the service has ended!
This year I was determined
to get myself a few Christmas jumpers, and I certainly managed to do that. I’ve
been wearing a huge variety of different Christmas jumpers throughout the
month, and am actually quite sad that some of them will only be for Christmas
as they’re so darn comfy and warm!
I’ve managed to get to the
cinema a few times this month, which I have really loved. I definitely enjoy
going to see films on the big screen and one of my resolutions for next year is
to try and go a bit more. I started off the month seeing Nativity 3, which,
although not quite as good as the first, was still good fun and got me into the
Christmas spirit. I then went with another friend to see Night at the Museum 3
and wholly enjoyed it. Being the third one I expected it to not be brilliant,
but I was pleasantly surprised and thought it was just as good as the other
two. Then a few days after Christmas my Dad took me to see Paddington, which
was quite frankly brilliant. I’m a big Paddington Bear fan anyway, so was dying
to see the film and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
Of course, the main event
of this month was Christmas, and I had a lovely Christmas period spent with
family and friends. I was an angel in the Church Crib Services on Christmas
Eve, spent Christmas Day with most of my family, and Boxing Day with the
extended family. I also got the opportunity to see several of my closest friends,
who usually live all over the world, from London to Dubai, so it’s been great
to catch up with them. I will be welcoming the New Year in with my close
family, playing Wii games and eating party food. I can’t think of anything
better.
Things I’ve learnt this month…
+Some people need to get the facts before they pass
judgement
+I love the build up to Christmas, probably more than
Christmas itself!
+Sometimes a break from reality is what you need
+I can do anything I put my mind to
+It’s good to have goals but don’t lose sight of
enjoying yourself in the moment
+Home is the best place to be
+I need to be more flexible
+I have very special family and friends around me who
care about me more than I could know
+I love giving other people presents
+I feel a lot more relaxed when it’s the holidays
What to look out for in January
I always find January to be
a really depressing month. I think after all the hype of Christmas, it just
seems to be a bit of a comedown – everything is dark and gloomy, you’re back at
work and it’s freezing! So what better thing to do then settle down on the sofa
with a warm blanket and a good DVD. There are a couple out this month that
caught my eye. The first is The Boxtrolls, which just looks like a light-hearted
animation that’s great for those times that you don’t really want to
concentrate on anything heavy. The other one that I spotted that I’d quite like
to see is Love, Rosie. It’s based on a Cecelia Ahern book, which is what first
drew me to it, and it sounds like a really sweet story. Hopefully one of those
chick flicks that you can just snuggle down with and chill out.
I’m really hoping there
will be some good things on TV this month, because that’s pretty much what my
evenings are going to consist of! I love nothing more than to come in out of
the wet and cold, jump in my pyjamas and switch on the box while I do a bit of
work. I’ve been keeping an eye on the adverts and it looks like we’ve got a new
series of Broadchurch starting soon. I’ve not actually got round to watching
Broadchurch before, but it definitely looks like the kind of TV series that
would interest me. Plus it’s got David Tennant in it, so you can’t go wrong
really! Something else that I’m excited about is the new series of Death in
Paradise, which starts in January as well. It’s one of my favourite murder
mystery shows, mainly because of the beautiful scenery and the actors that have
played the main detective. So I’ll be looking forward to solving some murders
with them!
One of my resolutions for
2015 is to try and go to the cinema at least once a month. There are always so
many films that I would love to see, and I think I should be making the most of
my student discount and socialising a bit more with some of my friends. In
January I’m looking so excited to go and see the newest Disney film, Big Hero
6, when it comes out on the 30th. I know one of my friends is dying
to see it as well, so hopefully we can go together. Another film that’s coming
out is Into The Woods, which brings all of our favourite fairy tales together
in one film. From the trailers it looks a little scary and it’s got Johnny Depp
playing the wolf, but it still looks like a good watch, so I might have to make
two visits to the cinema this month!
Make-up wise, in January I
want to start rocking a darker lip colour, as I think it’s the perfect time of
year for those deep reds and purples. It’s not a look I’ve ever really worn
before so I’ll be interested to see how I work it. Clothes wise I will be
sporting lots of big fluffy jumpers, especially in burgundy and mustard yellow,
and will team them with giant statement scarves and a cute bobble hat to finish
the outfit.
Image from Weheartit
Do you have any favourites or things
you’ve learnt in December? What are you looking forward to in January?
